


I love you (and other universal truths)

by flaming_sambuca



Category: Good Omens (TV), Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: 6000 Years of Pining (Good Omens), Friends to Lovers, Holding Hands, Innocence, Love, M/M, One Shot, Romance, Short & Sweet, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-16
Updated: 2020-07-16
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:15:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,339
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25294540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flaming_sambuca/pseuds/flaming_sambuca
Summary: It is a truth universally acknowledged, that Crowley's secret, after 6000 years of pining, of repressed feelings and unspoken words, must be revealed to all.orIn a quiet London park, a Demon and an Angel acknowledge their mutual feelings without a single word.
Relationships: Aziraphale/Crowley (Good Omens)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 59





	I love you (and other universal truths)

Perhaps one doesn’t need to say _I love you_ out loud to truly mean it. Perhaps, for some, it only takes the endless conversation of a blossoming friendship spanning centuries. After all, when one has all the time in the world, there is no need to rush things.

Just a _hello_ at Eden’s door, _good luck_ at the rise of civilization, _come closer_ in ancient Rome. A simple _thank you_ in the middle of the French Revolution, _I need you_ in the middle of London’s air raids. Endless other customary greetings like the rehearsal of some big cosmic plan, each word setting up the beginning of something much bigger than the universe itself. Perhaps that’s all it takes, sometimes. Just a little push. Just a little word.

_How long can you live in the silence of everything unspoken?_ thought Crowley on a park’s bench, his yellow snake eyes staring blankly at the soothing emptiness only the night brings.

The park was vacant and silent, almost hidden from any human presence or civilization. It almost felt biblical, the beginning of all things, a new empty Eden, free of barriers and restraints. Crowley was waiting. Always waiting. The right century, the right moment. Just trying to find the right things to say, terrified that what he had been bottling up these last few centuries would make everything crumble down on him. _What is one supposed to do in these cases?_

 _Perhaps some words are meant to stay unspoken,_ he thought. Perhaps even putting feelings into words that had been slowly and painfully curling around his immortal heart for centuries was too much. _Perhaps it would all be ok._ How long was he still willing to wait to have another chance like this? Another century? Another Apocalypse? Crowley knew he wouldn’t be able to be that patient. He had to take his destiny into his own hands. The odds seemed in their favor these days, Heaven and Hell now leaving them both alone. This was the moment he had been waiting for.

Crowley was the one to propose the rendezvous. Same place as usual, a park bench in the middle of London, at some unholy hour of the night, as they didn’t have to blend in with the humans to hide from their superiors anymore. They just had survived the Apocalypse, after all, and in those exceptional circumstances, things he would have rather kept to himself had been revealed.

 _We could go off together, run away together, off to Alpha Centuri._

The immortal demon felt caught in the spiral of those heat-of-the moment words, incapable to let them go.

 _You’re gone_.

As he was now forced to embrace the consequences, he couldn’t stop thinking about the Earth-shattering revelation his Angel must have understood by now.

 _Somebody killed my best friend._ _I lost him_.

The words that finally encapsulated his feelings, the revelation he truly understood, himself, for the first time during the Apocalypse.

_You can stay at my place, if you like._

Crowley had been tired of pretending for decades now, unable to ratify his feelings. The simple thought of things changing scared him to his demonic core, but he did felt like he owed the truth to his best friend. He had no other choice than to explain himself, to try to make the best out of the messy thing love is.

 _What if it was still too-much, too-soon? What if they tried something new and failed to make it work? What if it was too much for his Angel?_ It would be Crowley’s fault if everything crumbled. The Demon couldn’t recall the last time he had been this anxious – even when the world was ending, he had stayed calm, mostly because his Angel was there.

He didn’t want to risk losing him again, in an irrevocable way. He couldn’t stand the idea of having to spend the rest of eternity without the gracious smile of his Angel every couple centuries. Somehow, he knew his friend felt the same way. It was the foundation of their relationship.

Millenniums after their first encounter, they were still caught in an infinite dance, both of them terrified of taking the next step, the wrong step. It would take a Miracle for this encounter to go well. _They hadn’t survived the End of the World for nothing,_ the Demon convinced himself. He knew too well that Fate didn’t make things happen without a reason. This was their chance, their shot at love, a new beginning to their friendship.

The Angel arrived, silently. He had this wrenched habit, which usually would make the Demon groan and complain. Not today. Today was all about the silence and the heaviness of unspeakable tension floating in the air. Crowley didn’t even flinch when Aziraphale sat down beside him. Who else could it have been?

At least, now he knew the Angel cared enough about him to show up. Aziraphale opened his mouth to salute his friend but closed it immediately, realizing he had to weight his words carefully. The Demon was shaking with anticipation and nervousness. Their intimacy grew around them like an infinite black hole, menacing to collapse and swallow them. The Angel immediately noticed the subtle hint of panic tainting his friend’s face. A second passed without either of them saying a word to each other.

The silence was unexpected and bizarre. They always had so many things to talk about. At this unholy hour of the night, only one thing mattered, but neither of them was truly ready to say it out loud.

The Angel looked curiously at the Demon. Holding his head with his hands, Crowley was unable to meet his glare. He was still lost in his thoughts, unable to formulate out loud the explanation to all of this. He wasn’t sure where to start. After what felt like an eternity, Aziraphale broke the silence. He was tired of waiting too. Crowley rectified his posture, like he was bracing himself for the worst.

_“Let’s not go too fast, now, my dear.”_

It wasn’t the unspeakable words still pending in the air that pulled Crowley back to reality, but the shy movement of a hand reaching out, crossing the space between the two immortal beings. The demon felt his cheeks warm up with cautious reserves. He looked up to the Angel, feeling the most vulnerable he had ever been. Aziraphale smiled, a smile as warm and peaceful as the sun. Crowley moved his hand toward the invitation of his best friend, longing with the heavy effort of meeting the other halfway.

Their hands met in the middle of the cold bench, barely even touching each other. There it was. The unthinkable, the unspoken. It was more than enough. More perfect than what any words he could have said.

Crowley stopped breathing for a second – _like he really needed to breathe anyway_ – scared, half expecting one of them to burst into flame. The Angel gave a soft squeeze on the Demon’s hand, calming him down immediately. Everything was going to be fine. They were going to be ok. They had each other, finally ready to tumble over the edge of their friendship together.

Crowley let his immortal heart be satisfied with the soft touch of his Angel’s hand slowly caressing the top of his. The innocence of their interaction made the Demon shiver with a wave of love so powerful, something that felt like the result of all these millennia of unsaid words and repressed feelings. Everything was going to be different from now on, but perhaps change wasn’t always a bad thing.

In the middle of the night, the Angel and the Demon sat silently, saying more than they ever had before. There wasn’t an explosion. The Earth didn’t shatter, nor did it stop moving. Hell or Heaven didn’t break loose. Everything was fine.

So perhaps, one doesn’t need to say _I love you_ out loud, after all. Perhaps, sometimes, one just need to listen closely and enjoy the silence of a dark London park.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello hello!  
> This was one of the first fiction things I wrote in English (WHICH IS NOT MY FIRST LANGUAGE!!) out of an academic purpose. Big thanks to my friends, the ineffable duo Sabine & Val for their time, support, and proofreading. I hope you peeps liked the result of many hours of my mind thinking in French, trying its best to write in English! Lots of love  
> \- Sam


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